Adam Sandler Turns to Scott Cooper for His Next Dramatic Role

While we did get “Happy Gilmore 2” last year, Adam Sandler keeps going back to the dramatic well for his movie roles (we really just have to nominate him for an Oscar at some point, guys). His latest film sounds strictly serious, as he’ll be teaming with “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” director Scott Cooper‘s latest film.

Sandler will star in “Time Out,” which is written, directed, and produced by Cooper and is a psychological drama based on the 2001 French film from directors Laurent Cantet and Robin Campillo, “L’Emploi Du Temps.” The film will star Sandler as Vincent who, after being fired from his job, can’t bring himself to tell his wife and family and spins a web of lies to conceal his situation. He ends up creating an investment scheme and asks friends to contribute, but his deception threatens to overwhelm his entire life.

“I first encountered Laurent Cantet’s film in 2001, and it’s lived with me ever since. I’ve been thinking about revisiting it for years, but now felt like the right moment — we’re living in a time where questions of identity, work, and self-worth have become impossible to ignore,” Cooper said in a statement about the project.

Joining Sandler in the film is a cast that includes Willem Dafoe, Gaby Hoffmann, F. Murray Abraham, Steve Zahn, and Adam Horovitz. Tracey Landon is executive producing the film, which is set up at Netflix.

Sandler last year starred in Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly” opposite George Clooney for Netflix, and he’ll soon be reuniting with Josh Safdie on another film set in the world of sports card collecting and gambling.

Prior to last year’s “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” Cooper directed “The Pale Blue Eye” for Netflix in 2022, which was a detective mystery starring Christian Bale opposite a young Edgar Allan Poe. Cooper did manage to get Jeff Bridges an Oscar for his work in “Crazy Heart,” so it wouldn’t be out of the question that a film like this could factor in the awards conversation.